Dr Shafi’s detention order lifted, but remanded – Lawyer

The Detention Order under which the Kurunegala doctor accused of making thousands of women infertile has been lifted, but has been placed in remand custody his lawyers told RepublicNext.

Senior House Officer Dr. Shafi Shihabdeen was being held under a Detention Order issued under the Prevention of Terrorism Act because he was accused of having connections to Islamic Extremists.

Two weeks ago the CID told the Kurunegala Magistrate that they
have no evidence against Dr. Shafi and there is no reason to continue to detain
him.

The CID informed the court that they would be intimating the Ministry of Defense of the situation.

Shafi is still facing charges of causing grievous hurt and the Kurunegala Magistrate refused bail this afternoon July 11 his Attorney said.

On June 27 CID Officers deposed for a total of four and a half hours and presented a 210-page progress report to the court after having interviewed more than 750 people.

They said that they had questioned 135 witnesses which
included the doctors’ colleagues, his supervisors and other medical staff.

They said they found no evidence that Dr. Shafi was engaged
in any illegal activity either to tamper with the Fallopian tubes of women he
had performed cesarean sections or in any way render any of his patients
infertile.

Detectives had attended surgeries of the kind that Dr. Shafi
had performed and had been shown that what he was accused of was impossible,
they reported to court.

They reported that 615 complaints had been received from
women with regard to this case. Out of that 468 complaints had been recorded.
Only 147 had submitted written complaints and out of that eleven came for
questioning.

Some of the women had been operated on by doctors other Dr
Shafi and the CID concluded that only 3 merited a medical examination.